Underoath - Erase Me (April 6, 2018) Album • Page 115

I didn't even hear the curse word on Hold Your Breath lol. The chorus is already starting to grow on me

 

Annnnnnd I Gave Up is great. They really killed it in the home stretch.

First listen through, I'm satisfied. It won't live up to the last three records, but it's definitely not a blemish on their career. Proud of the band for being able to pull something like this off. Also, Wake Me ended up being my least favorite as I'd hoped. The clear weak spot, but still not bad. Now for listen #2!

 

I wanna like In Motion so much more, but the chorus is so mehhh. The screams are great though

 

Ooo. I thought that was the strongest clean chorus on the record.

 

Yeah In Motion was definitely my least favorite in the Bloodlust - I Gave Up stretch. I still consider it pretty decent and hope it grows on me more!

 

Agreed! The latter half of the record is definitely much stronger.

Edit: Oh wait I forgot ihateit is in there. Nvm lol

 

Dang the closer hits hard. Love it!

Alright I'm liking this more. Wake Me and ihateit are still doing nothing for me, but songs like Bloodlust and Hold Your Breath are already moving up the ranks. It's really interesting to see Underoath create an album like this. Can't say it's what I wanted, but power to them.

 

Listening to Wake Me again. Yep this is so much better than Rapture. should have been the second single instead of Rapture imo.

 

I really like Ihateit. The chorus reminds me of Chuck era Sum 41 and the bridge is great!

 

THATS WHAT I HAVE BEEN SAYING

 

I totally understand why some people don't like this now. It's a pretty significant departure from pre-breakup Underoath and this kind of sound isn't for everyone. That said, this is right up my alley and I can 100% get behind this reinvented Underoath.

Also hot take: This is better than TOCS by like a mile.

Hot Take 2: this is better than most modern radio rock by like a mile as well.

 

second listen before bed: I like it even more now and In Motion and Bloodlust grew on me. Stoked on all of this!

 

On my first listen! Really intrigued to see what this sounds like...

 

heads up, copies at Target might be limited. went to reserve one for in-store pickup later this afternoon and it said my store only had 3 left, with many adjacent stores only having 4 left. it's ni surprise given everybody moving away from CDs, but it's worth noting just in case you show up and they run out.

 

This seems to be a super polarising album from what I've seen online and heard in person. A lot of people either really hate it or love it, calling it one of their best. Definitely interested to see how this will be talked about in a year or two

 

That stuck out to me as well. Part of the magic about TOCS, DTGL, and LITSOS is that people would want to pick up guitars and play along with the record. I don’t think anyone is going to pick up a guitar to play along to these songs. At least not in the inspirational sense of UO’s trinity.

 

I just finished my first listen so gere are some stray thoughts:

Would it be weird to say there’s a lot of Radiohead influence?

The synth line in Wake Me sounds like a Killers song ... Smile Like You Mean It, maybe

Most songs have that same “wall of sound” chorus which was a little disappointing.

Overall not a bad album. I unfortunately tend to be a nitpicker when I first listen to albums (character flaw) so I’m sure I’ll come around to this album more.

Sorry if I’ve rehashed things already said, I missed a few pages of this thread.

 

Changed to what? Midnight now?

 

yea midnight. In canada its apparently still 11pm so my buddy @Kennedy always gets it an hour earlier than I do haha

 

I’m excited to listen to this whenever I get the chance today. Podcasts are gonna be even more backlogged

 

I’ll post this in here. I did a midnight review in the
CMCS thread.

Underoath: Erase Me (2018) Fearless Records


Today marks the triumphant return of Post-Hardcore/screamo heavyweights Underoath. Will this record be a return to form? Will they reinvent themselves? Are they still a Christian band? These are some of the questions that I am sure a lot of fans are wondering. I think this record is going to surprise people for a variety of reasons. The first thing the band is foreshadowing with this release is the album cover and this one speaks for itself with the depiction of weathered and broken angel.

Right from the beginning of the record, on the aptly titled, It Has To Start Somewhere, we are given a fairly standard Underoath song that could fit comfortably on They're Only Chasing Safety. It has Spencer and Aaron trading vocal duties and it works very well. It is a rocker and from the second you hit play it will keep you banging your head. I think most people at this point are totally on board.

Next, we go right into the two singles that were released for the album, Rapture and On My Teeth. Rapture is by far the bands most radio friendly song they have ever released but they do it well it and it fits them. On My Teeth is a definitely a song the band wanted people to hear for a variety of reasons. First off, that they are still relevant and can not only be heavy but somewhat radio friendly. It is the first song to really incorporate this "industrial" dark sound they use throughout the record and it really works for the overall feel of the album. But more importantly, they want you to delve deeper into their lyrics. The band has been extremely open about the fact that they are no longer a Christian band and have even gone so far as to denounce the idea of religion altogether. I can't imagine the pressure they felt to be these beacons of light and hope to young fans and bands, becoming essentially the biggest "Christian" band. At a time when they were at their lowest, Spencer especially, they looked to these fans they had helped get through hard times and they were nowhere to be found, casting him off as not one of their own. Spencer has been clean for over a year now and the band comes back with a vengeance and this song is a great way to see what the whole album has in store for their listeners. Lyrics like this show they have a new found sense of purpose:

"I'm not your fucking prey,
So Save Yourself,
and NO ONE ELSE..."
"What you believe,
Your life is a lie..."

The other thing I like about the album is that they use Aaron as a front man a lot. The first "Aaron" song is Wake Up and is actually kind of a poppy song and makes Rapture seem heavy, but contrasting this are very dark lyrics, essentially saying people need to wake up and see the truth.

Sink With You: this song may alienate a lot of their long time fans but is actually one of my favorite songs on the album. It has this very dark, industrial sound to it. I also love how around the 4 minute mark, the song just fades out and then comes blasting back in. I had to make sure I was listening to Underoath with the lyrics:

"...Tell me once more that I'm safe,
I've never believed so give me faith,
The fear of death is sinking in,
I'd rather die than sink with you,

You can't make it ok"

My other favorite song is Hold Your Breath and is one of those with a nice contrast between Spencer and Aaron. It is another rocker but I love how the song slows right down around the 3 minute mark and then out of the darkness we get Spencer screaming: "DON'T GET ME STARTED". The song makes me think of Mike Shinoda in how people place them on a pedestal and think they are these perfect people without problems. The lyrics are once again very impactful:

"Alone at the top of the world,
I forgot it was safe down below...

...I never asked you for this,
so don't tell me I'm to blame."

I don't want to spoil the record for anyone so I will stop there. I think this is a really good comeback album for them and yes, a lot of people will call them sell outs and that its too poppy or has too many nods to nu metal. But at the same time, this is a band that is trying to reinvent their image and I give them so much credit for stripping themselves of that overused and aged title. That title brought them to such a dark place and they are here to show you that titles don't matter and believe what you want, but don't let that restrict you from exposing yourself to new things, the people you hang out with, or most importantly what music you listen to.

Is this record perfect? No, but it is great record to rock out to and makes you want to sit down and digest the lyrics. I really like the fact that there are Aaron songs, Spencer songs and then Underoath songs. You get a nice mix of their talents and show that they are not going to sit in one specific genre.

Favorite songs:
It Has to Start Somewhere
Sink With You
Hold Your Breath

 

Y'all need a Google play music subscription
;). Addless YouTube red comes with it too. Looks like it has the censored and uncensored versions of the album.

 

Here we go. Just hit play let’s see if this is as divided of an album as it sounds on these boards.

 

Guys how are more of us not talking about how good Hold Your Breath is. Chorus has been stuck in my head all morning.

 

First few tracks of this slap, it fell apart after that for me but we’ll see how it grows.